Freak Out
01-18-2007, 06:04 PM
Why did they have to go and do this.....
Chinese Satellite Test Draws Sharp Protest From Other Nations
By Marc Kaufman and Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 18, 2007; 4:54 PM
The Chinese military used a ground-based missile to hit and destroy one of its aging satellites orbiting more than 500 miles in space last week, an apparent test of anti-satellite technology that raised concerns about a possible arms race in space and drew sharp protests from other space-faring nations.
The satellite-destroying test is believed to be the first of its kind in two decades by any nation, and experts say it dramatically illustrates Chinese capabilities in space and their willingness to face the certainty of broad international criticism.
"The U.S. believes China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said today. "We and other countries have expressed our concern regarding this action to the Chinese."
In addition to introducing a renewed military dimension to space, the destruction of the Chinese satellite created a large "debris cloud" that can seriously damage other satellites in nearby orbit, and possibly even spaceships passing through the region on their way to the moon or beyond.
Analysts said that based on computer models, as many as 300,000 pieces of debris may have been created with the explosion. While many will be very small, they said, hundreds will be large enough to create potentially serious problems.
Both the United States and the former Soviet Union tested anti-satellite technology in the 1980s, and the United States shot down one of its orbiting satellites in 1985. Partially as a result of the debris problem, both sides stopped the practice.
The Chinese test, which was first reported online by the magazine Aviation Week and Space Technology, comes at a time of heightened tensions between the United States and China regarding space. China is leading an effort in the United Nations to set up an international conference that would address what many consider to be an imminent space arms race. The United States, however, has been the one space-faring nation to oppose the idea, arguing that it wasn't needed because there is no arms race in space.
The Bush administration also released a National Space Policy last fall that strongly asserted an American right to defend itself in space against any actions it considered hostile.
The U.S. military is especially dependent on space-based satellites for navigation, communications and missile guidance, while the American economy could also be broadly damaged by any disruptions of communications, weather and other satellites. Some in the administration believe this has made the nation especially vulnerable to attack, and it has led them to propose efforts to develop ways to defend satellites in space.
The issue of possible hostilities in space became more real in August when National Reconnaissance Office Director Donald M. Kerr told reporters that a U.S. satellite had recently been "painted," or illuminated, by a ground-based laser in China. The United States did not make any formal protest of that event, but it did today regarding the latest Chinese action.
Johndroe of the NSC said that the Chinese satellite was destroyed using a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile, which slammed into the object 537 miles above earth on Jan. 11. He said that Australia and Canada have already lodged protests as well, and that Britain, South Korea and Japan were expected to follow suit.
"In my view, the Chinese are sending a strong signal here," said Jeffrey Kueter, president of the George C. Marshall Institute, a nonprofit space and defense think tank in Washington. "They're saying they can hold our space-based, war-fighting capability at risk, and are putting into doubt our ability to challenge them. They're a rising space competitor."
Kueter said the test makes it essential for the United States to get more serious about developing technology to defend against satellite attacks.
Michael Krepon, president emeritus of the Henry L. Stimson Center, another non-profit involved with security issues in Washington, called the Chinese test a likely -- and unfortunate -- response to American space policies.
"The Chinese are telling the Pentagon that they don't own space," he said. "We can play this game, too, and we can play it dirtier than you."
Krepon said the Chinese test "blows a hole through the Bush administration reasoning behind not talking to anybody about space arms control -- that there is no space arms race. It looks like there is one at this point."
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said the Chinese action makes it essential that the administration begin negotiations to stop any possible space arms race.
"The Chinese anti-satellite test is terrible news for international stability and security, and could presage the dawn of a new arms race -- this time in space," Markey said. "American satellites are the soft underbelly of our national security, and it is urgent that President Bush move to guarantee their protection by initiating an international agreement to ban the development, testing, and deployment of space weapons and anti-satellite systems."
Chinese Satellite Test Draws Sharp Protest From Other Nations
By Marc Kaufman and Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 18, 2007; 4:54 PM
The Chinese military used a ground-based missile to hit and destroy one of its aging satellites orbiting more than 500 miles in space last week, an apparent test of anti-satellite technology that raised concerns about a possible arms race in space and drew sharp protests from other space-faring nations.
The satellite-destroying test is believed to be the first of its kind in two decades by any nation, and experts say it dramatically illustrates Chinese capabilities in space and their willingness to face the certainty of broad international criticism.
"The U.S. believes China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said today. "We and other countries have expressed our concern regarding this action to the Chinese."
In addition to introducing a renewed military dimension to space, the destruction of the Chinese satellite created a large "debris cloud" that can seriously damage other satellites in nearby orbit, and possibly even spaceships passing through the region on their way to the moon or beyond.
Analysts said that based on computer models, as many as 300,000 pieces of debris may have been created with the explosion. While many will be very small, they said, hundreds will be large enough to create potentially serious problems.
Both the United States and the former Soviet Union tested anti-satellite technology in the 1980s, and the United States shot down one of its orbiting satellites in 1985. Partially as a result of the debris problem, both sides stopped the practice.
The Chinese test, which was first reported online by the magazine Aviation Week and Space Technology, comes at a time of heightened tensions between the United States and China regarding space. China is leading an effort in the United Nations to set up an international conference that would address what many consider to be an imminent space arms race. The United States, however, has been the one space-faring nation to oppose the idea, arguing that it wasn't needed because there is no arms race in space.
The Bush administration also released a National Space Policy last fall that strongly asserted an American right to defend itself in space against any actions it considered hostile.
The U.S. military is especially dependent on space-based satellites for navigation, communications and missile guidance, while the American economy could also be broadly damaged by any disruptions of communications, weather and other satellites. Some in the administration believe this has made the nation especially vulnerable to attack, and it has led them to propose efforts to develop ways to defend satellites in space.
The issue of possible hostilities in space became more real in August when National Reconnaissance Office Director Donald M. Kerr told reporters that a U.S. satellite had recently been "painted," or illuminated, by a ground-based laser in China. The United States did not make any formal protest of that event, but it did today regarding the latest Chinese action.
Johndroe of the NSC said that the Chinese satellite was destroyed using a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile, which slammed into the object 537 miles above earth on Jan. 11. He said that Australia and Canada have already lodged protests as well, and that Britain, South Korea and Japan were expected to follow suit.
"In my view, the Chinese are sending a strong signal here," said Jeffrey Kueter, president of the George C. Marshall Institute, a nonprofit space and defense think tank in Washington. "They're saying they can hold our space-based, war-fighting capability at risk, and are putting into doubt our ability to challenge them. They're a rising space competitor."
Kueter said the test makes it essential for the United States to get more serious about developing technology to defend against satellite attacks.
Michael Krepon, president emeritus of the Henry L. Stimson Center, another non-profit involved with security issues in Washington, called the Chinese test a likely -- and unfortunate -- response to American space policies.
"The Chinese are telling the Pentagon that they don't own space," he said. "We can play this game, too, and we can play it dirtier than you."
Krepon said the Chinese test "blows a hole through the Bush administration reasoning behind not talking to anybody about space arms control -- that there is no space arms race. It looks like there is one at this point."
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said the Chinese action makes it essential that the administration begin negotiations to stop any possible space arms race.
"The Chinese anti-satellite test is terrible news for international stability and security, and could presage the dawn of a new arms race -- this time in space," Markey said. "American satellites are the soft underbelly of our national security, and it is urgent that President Bush move to guarantee their protection by initiating an international agreement to ban the development, testing, and deployment of space weapons and anti-satellite systems."